ICYMI: Sen. Schiff Calls Out Trump Prioritizing Self-Enrichment Over Addressing Affordability During Conversation at San Francisco’s Commonwealth Club

Schiff: "And central to that objective, I think, is making the economy work for people again …The problem today is that people are working, and they can barely afford to get by. And I don't think our democracy will ever be on a secure footing until our economy is on a secure footing. Until people feel it's working for them."

San Francisco, CA - U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) spoke at the Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California on President Trump's self-enrichment schemes, highlighting that Trump's choices are making cost of living issues worse for the American people.

Schiff spoke with moderator San Francisco Chronicle reporter Hannah Wiley on how he is fighting back against the Trump administration and taking steps to address the affordability crisis and pushing to end the war with Iran.

View the full interview here.

Key Excerpts:

On the importance of repairing the Department of Justice:

What is the cost to the American people. Now, I would prioritize, and this is a cost that is more difficult to measure. But I would prioritize the corruption that we have seen within the Justice Department itself, and maybe that's because I come out of the Justice Department. I have a certain reverence for that department, but also because I think the damage to that department has been the most wide-scale of all the agencies. Certainly, things like USAID have been devastated. But it will take years, if not decades, to restore the reputation of the department for independence and nonpartisanship and the rule of law. But that department continues to do great damage. So, in the case of the slush fund for cop beaters, that's 1.776 billion dollars of taxpayer money. That's a direct cost to taxpayers if that is allowed to go on.

On Trump's corrupt dealings:

[…] They don't get a pass any more than anyone else. I saw the president recently was asked about the ethics language that I've been fighting to get into any market structure bill overseeing crypto. And the president making the false claim to reporters that they want to treat me differently than everybody else. No, actually, the problem for him is we want to treat him the same as everybody else. He wants to be treated differently. He doesn't want rules to apply to him. And they should apply to him, and they should apply to his kids, just like they should apply to anyone and their family if they're engaged in corrupt conduct. We simply don't know when this administration is making decisions of foreign policy. Are they with the best interests of the public in mind, or are they because the president got a $400 million dollar jet from Qatar? Are we making decisions vis-a-vis Saudi Arabia because they're in the best interests of the country, or because the Saudis are investing billions in Jared Kushner's investment fund, or because they've invested billions in Trump properties or crypto enterprises or that of their kids. There is simply no way of knowing, and to protect the country, we really do need to know. So, I would say no one is excluded, no one is included just because of who they are, whose family they're in.

On the values of the Democratic Party:

[…] We have a whole generation of young people that wonder if they'll ever be able to buy a home. The year that I was born, the average new home buyer was 28 years old. The average home buyer today is 40 years old. If you were going to have an equivalent circumstance to my dad's, then and be able to buy a home in California for your annual income. You would need an annual income of about a million dollars. And it doesn't have to be that way in this country. And I think the Democrats should hit the ground rolling with an agenda that brings down the cost of housing, and the cost of childcare, and the cost of health care, and expands access to health care, with bold, non-incremental ideas about how to do it. One of the things that the Republicans have demonstrated that I think we should take a page from that book is if you have the courage of your convictions, you can move the country far and fast. In our case, in the right direction; in their case, horribly backward.

[…] And I think when millions of people start to see the life they have as less than their parents for the first time in our history. All too many are willing to entertain any demagogue who comes along, promising they alone can fix it. So, we have got to address these big economic challenges, and I make that priority number one.

On making housing affordable:

[…] There are mechanisms that we have; we don't have to invent them. Things called the low-income housing tax credit, for example, that really work that help incentivize the development of low-income housing and middle-income housing, or could, but those tax incentives are capped. And so the funds available under those programs are quickly limited and reach capacity, and then new housing projects cannot qualify because they're gone. I've introduced a bill called the Housing BOOM Act that would lift that cap, that would triple the amount of housing you could build under this program, if not more. It has a whole other sorts of pieces to it that focus on middle-income housing and workforce housing. But these are just things that the federal government can do, and that is change the tax incentives.

On what Congress can do to protect the Justice Department in the future:

[…] And in terms of what the Congress can do, we can certainly do oversight of the Justice Department. They will resist it. It won't be easy to do. We will be heavily reliant on whistleblowers. One of the other legislative proposals I think that ought to be early on our agenda when we take over the House and Senate and White House. It is a bill that I've introduced. It's called the Protecting Our Democracy Act.

[…] We need to enshrine these protections in law, and so we will need to introduce a newer version at the end of this horror show that addresses each of these things that tries to once again rebuild the wall of independence between the White House and the Justice Department.

On building an economy that works for everyone:

[…] It shouldn't be that young people have to become horribly saddled in debt to afford an education. It shouldn't be that health care is unaffordable for people. If people are working hard, they should be able to afford a good quality of life in this country. And if they're not able to afford a good quality of life, it's not their fault; it's ours, as policymakers. And I think any elected official who does not recognize that and is not advocating for things that are big and bold that will address that, things like Medicare for all that would bring down the cost of healthcare. I think people who are not embracing bold solutions are going to be in trouble.

[…] We just have to stay laser focused on the economy, and the needs of the American people, and the need to make the economy work for people, and to bring home how this president is so oblivious. The only thing he cares about, the only economy he cares about, is his own damn personal wealth. And he's made more money as president in a year and a half, two years than in his whole life combined.

On the way to bring an end to the Iran War:

[…] The way to bring an end to the war is by not funding it. And if we had some of the Republicans willing to go with us to say we are going to cut off funding for this. Then it would dramatically bring about an end to the war. This war was ill considered from the very beginning. It's already had the most tragic consequences. We've lost 18 servicemembers. It has escalated the cost of living for American families. It has empowered Iran already tragically. Prior to the war, the Iranians may have theorized that they had the power to close the Strait, notwithstanding the force the United States might use to reopen it. They may have known that in theory. Now they know it in practice, and that is already a strategic defeat for the United States. I don't know how the administration ends this war, except I think, for their part, they're going to look for any face-saving way they can. Which means that the resolution is not going to be a good one. It will not, I think, bring about any meaningful guarantee of an end to the Iranian nuclear program.

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